Aged tyre fitted by Blackcircles without disclosure
Discussion
Hi all,
Wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar with Blackcircles.
I recently ordered a full set of tyres (Michelin PS4) for my Aston Martin V8 Vantage and when I inspected the DOT codes after the fitting, I noticed this:
Near Side Front (NSF): DOT 34/24
Near Side Rear (NSR): DOT 19/24
Off Side Rear (OSR): DOT 46/24
Off Side Front (OSF): DOT 20/22
So three of the tyres are from 2024, but one—fitted to the front axle—was manufactured in Week 20 of 2022, nearly three years old at the time of fitting. No one from Blackcircles informed me of this beforehand, and I only found out by checking the sidewalls after the job was done.
When I raised it with them, they basically refused to do anything, saying a tyre is considered “new” up to 5 years from manufacture (based on BRV/German standards), and that they don’t check or know the date codes in advance. No offer of replacement, refund, or even a discussion about the clear performance and safety mismatch of mixing a significantly older tyre with newer ones—particularly on a front axle.
To me, this seems like a breach of best practice—especially for high-performance or enthusiast vehicles.
Has anyone else experienced this with Blackcircles—or any other online tyre supplier? Would be interested to hear if this is common practice or just bad luck. Also keen to know what other members consider reasonable when it comes to tyre age at the point of sale.
Cheers,
Andrew
Wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar with Blackcircles.
I recently ordered a full set of tyres (Michelin PS4) for my Aston Martin V8 Vantage and when I inspected the DOT codes after the fitting, I noticed this:
Near Side Front (NSF): DOT 34/24
Near Side Rear (NSR): DOT 19/24
Off Side Rear (OSR): DOT 46/24
Off Side Front (OSF): DOT 20/22
So three of the tyres are from 2024, but one—fitted to the front axle—was manufactured in Week 20 of 2022, nearly three years old at the time of fitting. No one from Blackcircles informed me of this beforehand, and I only found out by checking the sidewalls after the job was done.
When I raised it with them, they basically refused to do anything, saying a tyre is considered “new” up to 5 years from manufacture (based on BRV/German standards), and that they don’t check or know the date codes in advance. No offer of replacement, refund, or even a discussion about the clear performance and safety mismatch of mixing a significantly older tyre with newer ones—particularly on a front axle.
To me, this seems like a breach of best practice—especially for high-performance or enthusiast vehicles.
Has anyone else experienced this with Blackcircles—or any other online tyre supplier? Would be interested to hear if this is common practice or just bad luck. Also keen to know what other members consider reasonable when it comes to tyre age at the point of sale.
Cheers,
Andrew
I had this happen on Saturday with my F355, my rear tyres tread were getting a little low, and whilst the tread on my front tyres were 4-5mm the age was 6 years old
So had a complete set of tyres fitted, annoyingly all 4 tyres are dated 2022, I’ll run through the rears before I have to worry about the date, but the fronts are already 3 years old, and considering I usually replace at the 5 year mark so I’m pretty annoyed, especially because whilst im happy to only replace the rear tyres, I won’t replace the fronts and leave the rear tyres
although I didn’t check at the time of fitting so too late to say anything now
So had a complete set of tyres fitted, annoyingly all 4 tyres are dated 2022, I’ll run through the rears before I have to worry about the date, but the fronts are already 3 years old, and considering I usually replace at the 5 year mark so I’m pretty annoyed, especially because whilst im happy to only replace the rear tyres, I won’t replace the fronts and leave the rear tyres
although I didn’t check at the time of fitting so too late to say anything now
Edited by 355spider on Monday 14th April 13:31
AQS said:
To me, this seems like a breach of best practice—especially for high-performance or enthusiast vehicles.
Blackcircles sell the cheapest tyres around so I wouldn't be surprised. I would imagine their 'best practice' consists of checking the size and brand on the tyre matches the invoice.123DWA said:
AQS said:
To me, this seems like a breach of best practice—especially for high-performance or enthusiast vehicles.
Blackcircles sell the cheapest tyres around so I wouldn't be surprised. I would imagine their 'best practice' consists of checking the size and brand on the tyre matches the invoice.It feels a little like shopping online at Tescos and being astonished the quality isn’t that of Harrods.
I had an oldish tyre fitted through Black circles. It was fitted in 2024 and was 2022 marked tyre. I complained, and they said that they had a storage time of up to 2 years. I continued to complain, and got a discount code for any future orders (which I was able to use). Previously, most of my Blackcircles tyres have been within 6 months old.
Also, remember, that a tyre ages when exposed to UV. I doubt a stored tyre 2 years old would have started to age in a bad way. You can therefore start the ‘aging’ from the date of fitment.
Also, remember, that a tyre ages when exposed to UV. I doubt a stored tyre 2 years old would have started to age in a bad way. You can therefore start the ‘aging’ from the date of fitment.
As others have mentioned - it's legal and unlikely to cause a safety problem. Having said that, I'd be unhappy as well and I'd be insisting on a replacement with a tyre of comparable age.
These are premium tyres at a premium price, not cheap ditchfinders, and it's fair for the customer to be picky.
These are premium tyres at a premium price, not cheap ditchfinders, and it's fair for the customer to be picky.
Amazed you got tyres fitted at all. I tried 5 times to get tyres fitted by them on 1 order. One of those times I was mildly verbally assaulted by a guy carrying a ratchet socket he was pointing at me. I avoid them like the plague. Buy cheap buy twice and all that...
The wrong sized tyres they'd sent were at least only a few months old though.
The wrong sized tyres they'd sent were at least only a few months old though.
Personally I wouldn't give a monkeys.
I appreciate it is a tad annoying that one is older than the others but if I was, say, in the market for a low mileage 2022 AM V8 Vantage that came with its OEM tyres then I wouldn't care beyond them having enough matching tread and how much tread life is in them. They are well within spec in terms of age, I really think this is a subject that people fret about far too much.
Just get out and enjoy your car, would be my view.
As it happens I've just had Halfords 'Tyres On The Drive' put a new set of rears on my M3 this morning. Other than checking that they matched and the guy hadn't damaged my alloys I could not care less about the tyre age. I will wear them out before anything bad happens.
I appreciate it is a tad annoying that one is older than the others but if I was, say, in the market for a low mileage 2022 AM V8 Vantage that came with its OEM tyres then I wouldn't care beyond them having enough matching tread and how much tread life is in them. They are well within spec in terms of age, I really think this is a subject that people fret about far too much.
Just get out and enjoy your car, would be my view.
As it happens I've just had Halfords 'Tyres On The Drive' put a new set of rears on my M3 this morning. Other than checking that they matched and the guy hadn't damaged my alloys I could not care less about the tyre age. I will wear them out before anything bad happens.
As others have said, don’t worry about it, they will have been stored away from sunlight. I have bought all of my tires online, for years, everything from 911s, M3, Griff 500, vans, to my tweaked 7.6 litre Big Block Camaro and via Tyre leader until recently , but due to their utterly shoddy service I have switched to Camskill and Black Circles.
Back in early summer 20, I bought 4 X BFGs for the Camaro and had them fitted to a new set of Minilite alloys. Due to various factors, the car still isn’t ready for the road, but I will have no worries driving it on them. I have pumped them up to 35psi and the car is up on stands.
The rears will be toast after a few burn outs anyway lol.
Re Michelins, my Clio 182 had a front pair of PS3s, that were dated 2019, when I bought it in early 21. But by 2023 and after covering some 4,000 miles, they were cracking.
Back in early summer 20, I bought 4 X BFGs for the Camaro and had them fitted to a new set of Minilite alloys. Due to various factors, the car still isn’t ready for the road, but I will have no worries driving it on them. I have pumped them up to 35psi and the car is up on stands.
The rears will be toast after a few burn outs anyway lol.
Re Michelins, my Clio 182 had a front pair of PS3s, that were dated 2019, when I bought it in early 21. But by 2023 and after covering some 4,000 miles, they were cracking.
Shooter McGavin said:
Personally I wouldn't give a monkeys.
I appreciate it is a tad annoying that one is older than the others but if I was, say, in the market for a low mileage 2022 AM V8 Vantage that came with its OEM tyres then I wouldn't care beyond them having enough matching tread and how much tread life is in them. They are well within spec in terms of age, I really think this is a subject that people fret about far too much.
Just get out and enjoy your car, would be my view.
As it happens I've just had Halfords 'Tyres On The Drive' put a new set of rears on my M3 this morning. Other than checking that they matched and the guy hadn't damaged my alloys I could not care less about the tyre age. I will wear them out before anything bad happens.
If the new rear tyres fitted to your M3 this morning turned out to be three years older than the fronts — say one set from 2024 and one from 2021 — would you genuinely have no concern at all? No hesitation about how they'd behave under braking, cornering, or at speed, particularly if they're on the driven axle?I appreciate it is a tad annoying that one is older than the others but if I was, say, in the market for a low mileage 2022 AM V8 Vantage that came with its OEM tyres then I wouldn't care beyond them having enough matching tread and how much tread life is in them. They are well within spec in terms of age, I really think this is a subject that people fret about far too much.
Just get out and enjoy your car, would be my view.
As it happens I've just had Halfords 'Tyres On The Drive' put a new set of rears on my M3 this morning. Other than checking that they matched and the guy hadn't damaged my alloys I could not care less about the tyre age. I will wear them out before anything bad happens.
In my case, we're not talking about a set of tyres from the same batch — it's three tyres from 2024 and one from 2022, with no disclosure of the age difference, and the older one was fitted on the front axle. It’s not about obsessing over details — it’s about compound consistency, balance, and informed choice.
I think it’s fair to expect matching performance characteristics when paying for a “new” set.
Appreciate the perspective though — it’s good to hear different views.
Edited by AQS on Monday 14th April 15:17
plenty said:
As others have mentioned - it's legal and unlikely to cause a safety problem. Having said that, I'd be unhappy as well and I'd be insisting on a replacement with a tyre of comparable age.
These are premium tyres at a premium price, not cheap ditchfinders, and it's fair for the customer to be picky.
But sold by and purchased from a budget retailer, arguably even an outlet business model retailer. If you want to be picky then you have really should buy from a supplier whose pricing allows for that. These are premium tyres at a premium price, not cheap ditchfinders, and it's fair for the customer to be picky.
rhamnousia5 said:
plenty said:
As others have mentioned - it's legal and unlikely to cause a safety problem. Having said that, I'd be unhappy as well and I'd be insisting on a replacement with a tyre of comparable age.
These are premium tyres at a premium price, not cheap ditchfinders, and it's fair for the customer to be picky.
But sold by and purchased from a budget retailer, arguably even an outlet business model retailer. If you want to be picky then you have really should buy from a supplier whose pricing allows for that. These are premium tyres at a premium price, not cheap ditchfinders, and it's fair for the customer to be picky.
bodhi said:
I'm guessing my hint was a bit too subtle - Blackcircles are owned by Michelin.
And? It’s still a business with a budget style business model. They’re selling tyres in the acceptable date range. If you only want tyres that were made the week before they’re being fitted then you need a premium seller too, who will charge for that offering. Pica-Pica said:
Also, remember, that a tyre ages when exposed to UV. I doubt a stored tyre 2 years old would have started to age in a bad way. You can therefore start the ‘aging’ from the date of fitment.
I think that this is critical. Note also bodhi's comments. Annoying and you can hassle customer services but probably best to enjoy the AM V8.Gassing Station | Suspension, Brakes & Tyres | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff